USS Black Hawk, Albumen Photograph of Brown Water Navy Ironclad Gunboat

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American Historical Ephemera and Photography

By Cowan's Auctions

Nov 19, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-11-19 10:00:00 2020-11-19 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American Historical Ephemera and Photography https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-historical-ephemera-and-photography-5894
Cowan’s Auctions, a Hindman Company, is pleased to present the November 19 Fall Auction, featuring over 400 lots of historically significant photography, manuscript material, artwork, and other ephemera dating from the 18th through the early 20th century, including the Civil War. Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com

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• Lot Description
  Oval albumen photograph, approx. 7.5 x 5.5 in., mounted to 9 x 6.5 in. (trimmed), featuring the USS Black Hawk. J.W. Taft: Memphis, TN, n.d. Period pencil and ink identification below image.
  
  USS Black Hawk, a large side-wheel steamer built in New Albany, Indiana (1848) was taken up from the civilian trade by Navy purchase at Cairo, Illinois, and commissioned December 6, 1862. Black Hawk spent her entire Brown Water Navy career as flagship for Rear Admiral David Porter, Captain Alexander Pennock, and Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee, successive commanders of the Mississippi Squadron. Beginning in December 1862 she participated in the early stage of operations to clear the Mississippi in preparation for the investment of Vicksburg. First contact resulted in the capture of the strategically located Fort Hindman at the Battle of Arkansas Post on January 11, 1863, but achieved little else other than the taking of 4,900 ragtag Rebel prisoners. Later in the year Black Hawk was part of W.T. Sherman's deception attack utilizing combined army-navy forces against Haines Bluff, Mississippi to draw off and pin Confederate forces intended for Vicksburg. As the noose tightened on Vicksburg, Black Hawk joined in the routine bombardment of the city during final siege operations. Afterwards, the task of the Mississippi Squadron largely realigned to one of army cooperation, transport and supply, interspersed with up tempo operations during the Red River Campaign. Black Hawk accidentally burned and sank near Cairo on April 22, 1865. 
  
  The Richard B. Cohen Civil War Collection 
  
  Lots 37, 69-98, 295 
  
  Cowan's enthusiastically presents the second installment of collector Richard B. Cohen's matchless archive of Civil War Brown Water Navy photography. Richard was known to many in the field - indeed some of these images may resonate from a bygone transaction or "show and tell' - but to those who knew him best he'll be remembered as a "disciplined collector who maintained a relatively narrow focus having built an important, perhaps unsurpassed collection in his area of specialization." This catalogued portion of the core collection is a seamless continuation of high quality photography highlighted by an array of Brown Water Navy warships in desirable carte-de-visite format. We counted no fewer than 22 different Mississippi River vessels, some battle-weary and familiar, others obscure, but all identified with many named in period ink. Research confirmed that several of these CDVs were signed by an officer who had served aboard the ship conveying the historic connection and spirit of "wooden ships and iron men." The last of the larger format albumen warships are also included - the USS Blackhawk, Eastport, and Louisville. A fine quartet of lots feature sought-after enlisted sailors. We proceed with eight additional lots of multiple identified officer cartes, the myriad of navy rank insignia during the Civil War both complex and instructive. We think it opportune to quote a comment from a previous buyer who emailed that, "...I draw inspiration from their BWN service when known, and when not offering (him) the opportunity to reconstruct an aspect of overlooked Civil War naval history." Now comes the time to further disperse Richard B. Cohen's collection and recycle the photography to the care of the next generation, and in so doing we salute a lifelong endeavor unlikely ever to be duplicated.

  Condition

  Undamaged with strong clarity, near EXC. Image with portion of left margin of mount completely trimmed away with the two right corners dented.
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